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University of Michigan Releases National Framework to Measure Energy Equity

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For decades, Black and Indigenous people, other people of color, and impoverished communities nationwide have suffered the burdens of adverse environmental policies that have impacted everything from health outcomes to housing conditions.

The Energy Equity Project (EEP) at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability recently released the first national framework to comprehensively measure and advance energy equity. The groundbreaking tool will have broad impact and facilitate a measure of accountability and protection for those most vulnerable to harmful environmental policies, as well as provide guidance for creating good energy policy moving forward.

“The framework is effectively an atlas of energy equity, and we hope users of all types, from a public utilities commissioner to a community activist will find valuable insights and guidance,” said Justin Schott, EEP project manager. “We can’t wait to partner with organizations that are ready to apply this inaugural framework in their own communities.”

EEP’s framework is the result of 15 months of collaboration, including 10 listening sessions with more than 400 participants representing utilities, regulators, nonprofit and academic practitioners, grassroots community organizations, and philanthropists. It was launched by Tony Reames, an associate professor of environment and sustainability, who is now serving as deputy director for energy justice at the U.S. Department of Energy while on leave from University of Michigan, and was funded by the Energy Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies , and The Joyce Foundation.

About The Joyce Foundation

Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

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